


Setting Suns

by Nova16



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, But I hurt the poor water boy, F/M, Hallucinations, I hurt Wind, If I ever kill a character I would tag it, Impaling, Imprisonment, It has come to my attention that I am good at writing nightmares, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Not as bad as I have hurt Legend, Please read the tags and/ or read the whole thing before yelling at me, Poison, Prompts I used, Take me instead, Wind (Linked Universe)-centric, Wind and Tetra are aged up to about 10 years after WW, Written for the LU discord weekly prompt for Febuwump, don't look
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29338623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nova16/pseuds/Nova16
Summary: Three days ago, Link and Tetra's ship was taken over by a band of rival pirates. All that remained of their crew were just the two of them. Once the sun set, Link would be next. However, not everything is as it seems.
Relationships: Link/Tetra (Legend of Zelda), Tetra (Legend of Zelda)/Wind (Linked Universe)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	Setting Suns

That was the only day Link had ever wished for a great storm. Or for a giant sea creature to ram the hull of the ship. He would have much rather have met his end quietly under the surface of the water. Anything other than the fate he was faced with.

His back and arms hurt from being stuck in the same position for days—tied around the mast of his and Tetra’s ship. Or, what was left of their ship.

Three days ago, they had had a run-in with another pirate ship. The other pirates had used the cover of night to sneak aboard their ship and attacked their crew while their guard was down. The pirates outnumbered his and Tetra’s crew ten to one and they were overpowered very quickly.

Many of their crew lost their lives during the struggle the first night. And every day since, the pirates would send more and more of them to their graves, in many horrific ways until only the two of them remained.

They knew that as soon as the sun set, it would be his turn.

He twisted and stretched his hand to find hers, and held onto it tightly. Over the past ten years that they’ve known each other, they had become inseparable. Somewhere along the way, the lines between friendship and more than had become blurred between them.

There was a ring in a little ornate box, hidden in one of the drawers of their dresser.

He watched the setting sun with tired eyes. Memories of his short life were rushing through his mind. Aryll. She won’t take the news of his death well. And perhaps it was a blessing that his grandmother had already passed on because he knew she wouldn’t have been able to handle another heartbreak.

Other faces and names started to come to mind. People he hadn’t thought about in years. Heroes of times long ago and far off into the future. When he died, would he get to see them again? Sky and Four and Time he knew for sure came before him. Would they be there to greet him on the other side?

It would be millennia yet before Warriors and Wild would even be born. He wasn’t so sure about the others.

The sun touched the sea and Tetra held his hand even tighter.

Were his old friends watching over him now? The thought comforted him slightly.

Time was quickly running out for him, and he tried so hard to keep the fear away. Wild had told them all, one night around a fire, about how he got the scars all over his body. About how he’d died. At first, he had tried to laugh it off as a bit of a joke but, when he’d realized that none of them were laughing, his mood turned melancholy.

He told them the full story of what had happened that day in Blatchery Plain.

_“It hurt at first, but there was a point where I just…couldn’t feel anything. When Zelda held me in her arms, I think I tried to apologize to her. It felt like I was falling asleep.”_

Link hoped it would be like that. That he would go quickly. But, judging by the pirates’ almost giddy faces, it didn’t seem very likely.

Tetra made a noise as the last rays of the sun disappeared from the horizon. The bright moon and all of the stars glared down at them, mockingly.

The captain of the other ship sauntered over to them with a smile full of bloodlust. He told his crew to untie him from the mast. He had to close his eyes as Tetra began to struggle against her restraints. It broke his heart into so many pieces to know that she would have to sit there helplessly as she watched him die.

“No. _No_!” She screamed as they slowly undid the ropes keeping him attached to the mast. After three days in the sun with no food or water, Link didn’t have the strength left in him to fight them off.

She refused to let go of his hand.

“Tetra, don’t look,” he begged her. He didn’t want her last memory of him to be his death.

“No, _Link_!” The pirates forced their hands apart to bring him to his feet and bind his hands behind his back.

“Please, for once, _don’t fight me on this_.” His voice was a whole lot more steady than he thought it would be. Funnily enough, it was just as Wild had said. He was numb and he couldn’t feel anything.

They had pushed him to his knees in front of her to say their last words. That was the first he’d been able to look at her in three days. It was also his last, so he tried to savor it. He tried to memorize her face. Her large eyes, the little scar she had on her forehead.

“Link.” Tetra wasn’t ever one to cry but tears were pooling in her eyes. He wished his hands were free so he could brush them away.

“Just don’t look, _please_.” If there was ever a time for her to listen to him it was then.

She shook her head. “No. No, it should be me. I’m the captain. _It should be me_!” There was a small part of him that was almost okay with him dying first, just so he didn’t have to see her die.

The captain decided their time was up. Link quickly leaned forward to press his lips against hers for the last time. It was an apology and a goodbye. The pirates ripped him from her too soon.

“I love you. I’m sorry. Please. Just _don’t look_ ,” he begged her again as they dragged him to the middle of the deck. She screamed his name over and over again as tears streamed down her sun-burnt cheeks.

They shoved him until he fell to his knees again, but this time in front of the deranged pirate captain. Link held his head as high as he could as he stared his grim reaper in the eye.

The pirate captain stood there cleaning his rapier. He was going to draw his death out, Link just knew it.

“They told me I was crazy to even _think_ about going after the Barbarian Queen of the Sea and her… _consort_.” The captain looked down at him like he had wanted to use a different word to describe him. It didn’t matter, Link had heard one way or another all of the things people would say about Tetra and him—good _or_ bad.

The captain crouched down and grabbed a hold of his jaw tightly. If tonight wasn’t going to be his last, it would have left a bruise.

“It seems the stories of the _legendary hero_ were a tad bit exaggerated. There’s no way a runt like you could have held the power over the winds.”

Link spat at the pirate. He had let go of Link’s face only to backhand him roughly.

“This _little runt_ stabbed Ganondorf in the head when he was twelve years old.” He spat out a bit of blood and glared up at the pirate.

The captain took a step back and pressed the tip of his sword on Link’s left shoulder. He dragged the sword slowly across his chest—ripping open his shirt and leaving behind a thin, bloody line. “Well, your story ends today. Right where mine begins,” the captain taunted as he quickly slashed at Link’s now exposed skin.

He tried so hard not to cry out—to not give the pirate the satisfaction. But, after the first few slashes, it was impossible not to.

It went on like this for what seemed like hours. Tetra yelled and cursed them the entire time. When the captain had finally decided he’d had enough, he smirked and drew his arm back.

Link knew it was the end and involuntarily turned his head towards the mast. His eyes met Tetra’s across the deck. _I told you not to look._ Was his last thought before the pirate captain pierced through his heart with his sword.

It was more painful than he’d ever imagined, and nothing at all like falling asleep as Wild had said all those years ago. It felt like he was drowning—honestly, he wouldn’t have been surprised if his lungs were filling up with blood. Tetra’s screams echoed in his head up until the moment when there was nothing but quiet and darkness.

Then he really _did_ feel like he was drowning.

When Link opened his eyes again the pirate captain and the ship and Tetra’s pained screams were all gone. In fact, he was surrounded by nothing but water from all sides. His hand flew to his chest where he’d been stabbed but there was no wound.

Was this the afterlife? But if it was, why couldn’t he breathe?

He tried swimming up but he was so far below the surface that he could barely see the sun. He would never make it before his air ran out. Which, that moment was quickly approaching.

Link raised a hand towards the surface and paused. His arm was shorter. And so were his legs. And the rest of him.

If this was the afterlife, shouldn’t he be the same age as when he died? Or at the very least when he was in his prime? Not stuck in his fourteen-year-old body!

But…then again, how old _had_ he been when he died? The lack of air was making his head fuzzy. His memory of his life before was fading fast until he had only a vague recollection of his time spent with Tetra and their crew.

_“I love you. I’m sorry. Please. Just don’t look.”_

He had said that to her…but _why_?

 _“I love you.”_ Link’s face burned at the thought. There was _no way_ he would have told Tetra he loved her! Because…because _he didn’t_! Tetra was his friend. _His friend._

He shook his head. His lungs were starting to burn and that all didn’t matter now, he had to find a way to get to the surface. So he started swimming upwards again—frantically this time—but no matter how hard he tried to swim, it was as if he wasn’t moving at all.

When he looked down he found out why. He made the mistake of yelping—which forced out what little air he had remaining. But it had been justified. Holding onto his legs and pulling him down to the ocean floor was Ganondorf himself.

Ganondorf was laughing as his fingers dug into his leg. The Master Sword was still sticking out of his forehead and blood seeped out of the wound—turning the water around them red. He kicked and hit, trying to get away but Ganondorf held fast.

_“Allow me to show you your future.”_

Ganondorf pulled the sword out of his head and continued laughing and laughing as he plunged it into Link’s stomach.

All he could hear, as his world was filled with darkness, was Ganondorf’s incessant laughter.

Link was shocked awake by a bucket of water—at least, he _hoped_ it was just water—being tossed onto his face. Jeering and laughter surrounded him.

“When I get out of these, I’m going to kill them. Every last one of them,” Tetra growled lowly beside him, pulling at the shackles and chains around her wrists.

It was a stupid mistake that led them to this place—this pen full of criminals. They both knew sailing off on their own was a bad idea. But they decided the risk had been worth it if they could have a few days to spend together alone.

Not like _alone,_ alone! He squeezed his eyes shut to keep the warmth out of his cheeks. They just wanted to go off and explore new islands without a chaperone. Oh, they were for sure going to get an earful from Linebeck when they get back.

_If we get back._

They had been captured in the middle of the night by a group of pirates who they had fought with not even a few months back. The pirates dragged them to a fairly large island where they were now being held prisoner.

It was no more than a fence to keep animals in and was completely exposed to the weather. They were each chained to a wooden post, thankfully near enough to each other that when night fell, they could keep each other warm.

After a few days being kept there, someone of supposed importance came to them and charged them with the crime of piracy. A crime where the punishment was death, according to their laws.

He and Tetra spent hours cursing and screaming at them but it did them no good. Today especially. After all, the sun was setting. Once it dipped below the horizon, they were to meet their fate.

They watched the sun sink lower and lower. At one point he reached for her hand and held it tight. They were going to die at barely fourteen years old. The stars were starting to come out of hiding and Tetra squeezed his hand.

Night had finally fallen and the important person returned—with guards this time. Their time was up.

“The dread pirate Zelda,” the important person sneered at the two of them. “Rumors of your immoral acts have reached my shores and for that, you have been sentenced to death. Your companion, however…” he trailed off looking between the two of them.

“The tales never mentioned a second pirate. So, I have decided to be benevolent this evening.” Link’s heart started to race in his chest. The sickening smile on his face said the exact opposite of what his words did. “Tell me which one of you is Zelda and I’ll let the other go free.”

Link didn’t hesitate to say, “I am.” Tetra looked over at him in horror—her mouth open, ready to claim her other name. He couldn’t look at her or his bravery would have crumbled. “Let her go and take me instead.”

Tetra latched onto his arm and dug her fingers in. “What are you doing?” She hissed, her voice was a bit wobbly.

“ _I_ am the dread pirate Zelda.” The important person looked him over skeptically. Link faked a short laugh and scoffed. “What? Did you think _she_ was?” He nodded his head in her direction.

“She’s just a girl. How could she _possibly_ captain a pirate ship?” There was scattered murmuring from the island people who had gathered to watch. They all seemed to agree with him and bought it completely. The more the people whispered, the more it seemed to convince the important person.

The important person gestured to his guards to take Link away. Tetra held on even tighter.

“No. Stop it, Link, I won’t let you do this.” She gave the guards her best glare she could muster and began to shout. “He’s lying! I’m—!”

He didn’t know another way to shut her up, his body had moved on its own. Honestly, it took him a moment to even realize he had pressed his lips against hers. The guards ripped them apart so they could unchain him from his post.

Before they could take him, he planted a light kiss on her cheek right next to her ear. “ _Please_. Live to fight another day.”

“No! _Link_!” She screamed and cursed until her face turned red. He couldn’t turn around to see her one last time. It would have destroyed his resolve.

Tetra was going to live. That was all that mattered. If he had to die to make sure of that then he would do so gladly. Confusing emotions, that he would never have the time to figure out, cluttered up his chest and made his throat tighten.

They were only fourteen. He was _going to die at fourteen_.

_But Tetra is going to live._

He felt the corner of his mouth turn up in a smile, and he’d felt like he’d just tricked Ganondorf himself. At least, until the important person spoke again.

“Take the girl, too.”

Link spun around—as much as the guards escorting him would allow—his heart had stopped beating altogether. “What? No! You wanted the pirate captain and you have me! _She has nothing to do with this_!”

“Hmm?” The guy hummed. “Oh, but that was before I realized what she was to you.”

Link fought and fought against the men holding him. He yelled and cried. He ran out of curses so he invented hundreds more on the spot. They were brought up the mountain and came to a cliff that hung out over the ocean.

They held him back and forced him to watch as they tied weights to her hands and feet. They marched her up to the edge of the cliff and turned her around so they faced each other.

As the important guy started to spout off the long list of supposed crimes, and their justifications for sending two children to their graves, Tetra was mouthing something to him.

_I’m sorry. Please, don’t look._

Link couldn’t hear himself scream as they pushed her off the cliff. He hadn’t even heard the splash. His ears stopped working. The only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

He never noticed when they tied weights to his own hands and feet, nor did he notice when they brought him to the edge of the cliff.

His mind was silent.

The waves crashed up against the cliff.

When they pushed him off, he fell slowly. Like the wind itself was preventing him from ever reaching the water. The longer he fell, the further away the ocean got.

The wind was speaking to him. Calling his name over and over again. But, not the name ‘Link’.

 _Wind._ It whispered. _Wind. Wind._

The falling feeling disappeared and everything went dark once again. Everything _hurt_.

“Wind? _Wind_.”

Wind opened his eyes and barely managed to roll over onto his side before he threw up all over the floor. Whether it was from his dream or due to the reason why he felt so cold and sluggish.

Someone rubbed his back soothingly. Judging by the sound of their voice it was Warriors.

“You back with us, bud?”

Wind coughed and wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand. “Th’ hell’d’you put in my drink?” He couldn’t remember what happened, he had no idea where or _when_ they were.

His words brought about a round of laughter among his friends.

“Yeah, he’s back,” Legend said warmly. Wind had to do a double-take because Legend and warm were two things he would never have put together. When he looked up at the Vet he noticed he was sporting a new cut along his cheek. Wind tried to sit up, to get his bearings, but that may have been the worst idea he’d ever come up with.

“Careful there,” Hyrule gently eased him back to a lying position on the bed. “We’re not sure if the toxin is completely out of your system yet.”

“Poison?” He tried hard to remember when he would have been exposed to poison, but his head felt like it was full of cotton and he couldn’t think straight.

Twilight placed a cold washcloth on his forehead. It wasn’t until then that Wind realized how hot he felt. But he was so cold at the same time, too. “Courtesy of the Yiga Clan.” Wind looked up at Twilight. “You took an arrow to the shoulder three days ago.” He then noticed at least why his left shoulder was hurting so badly. There were bandages wrapped around his upper body.

“Don’t worry. Wild, Legend, and Wars made sure to decimate their hideout after getting the antidote from them.” That explained why the three of them looked so battered.

“The traveler here brought you back from the doors of death,” Time place his hand on Hyrule’s shoulder with a small smile that melted into something serious as he looked up at Wind. “I don’t want to scare you, kid, but I also don’t want to lie to you. It was touch and go there for a while. We almost lost you a few times.

The memory of his dream came rushing back to him and he nearly threw up again. He closed his eyes. Dying at the hand of a pirate captain. At the hand of Ganondorf far beneath the sea. He had watched Tetra get thrown off a cliff. His heart was beating loudly in his chest.

“You okay?” Sky asked, concern written all over his face.

It was just a dream. Tetra was fine. She was fine and alive and he was going to see her again. She was _alive_.

Wind accidentally let out a whimper of pain as he turned his head to stare up at the ceiling. “Yeah, I—I was just thinking about home.” The others made a few understanding noises. “I hope we end up back there soon, there’s someone I need to see. I just… _I need to confirm that it was just a dream_.”

It was Legend of all people who sat down on the edge of the bed and took Wind’s hand in his. There was something in his eyes that Wind was quick to recognize. Legend never said anything, but he didn’t need to. Wind understood perfectly and that’s when he finally let himself cry.

_It was just a dream._


End file.
